Scores 30 as Bengals top BCL rival
By: Sean Brennan
Brighton was in desperate need of a big win.
A Division 2 state finalist last year, the Bengals fell in an early hole with losses in two of their first three games before last night’s testy 79-70 Boston City League victory over visiting rival New Mission.
Guard Malik James scored 13 of his game-high 30 points during the fourth quarter as Brighton (2-2) closed the game on a 18-6 run to finally begin to gain some traction.
“As Malik goes, we go, because every team needs a solid leader on the court, and he has proven that he is time and time again,” Brighton coach Hugh Coleman said about his star player. “He really showed up and did a great job for us tonight.
“Going into this season I thought we would have an identity because we were returning so many players, but it didn’t seem to come out (in the first three games). But this game was a good identity game for us because we played for each other and played hard defense, and that is what we want to do.”
In the first quarter, it was junior Nick Simpson (17 points, five rebounds) who paced a fast start for the Bengals (2-2). He scored 10 early points to lift Brighton to a 23-15 lead after eight minutes.
New Mission (3-1) responded with solid second quarters from bench players Sam Freeman (five points) and Juwan Gooding (13 first-half points) to even the score at 37-37 at the break.
After New Mission took a 46-45 lead midway through the third on a Brian Jones’ 3-pointer, James hit a runner to retake the lead, and then found Daivon Edwards for a step-back 3-pointer that ignited a quarter-ending 9-3 run for a 56-49 Brighton advantage heading into the fourth.
READ FULL STOREY HERE: http://bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/2012/12/malik_james_sparks_brighton_win
